Glass Walls
by TheDarkDancerWithTheDawnRose
Summary: Ianto is a young, specially bred but damaged human pet waiting for someone to choose him, but convinced that no one ever will...until Jack comes along. One off story but possibility of continuation if story is enjoyed. Sad and very angsty.


Hi everyone, before you get upset with me I haven't stopped writing exchange program or anything of the sort. In fact I'm supposed to be doing an assignment but unfortunately the muse always jumps into my head when I'm supposed to be doing other things. This story can either be a one off or I can write more in this universe it's up to you guys and whether or not you think you'd like to see more. I originally planned it to be a one off but as I was writing it I came up with all these other things that could happen down the track so let me know what you all think. Don't worry it won't stop me writing Exchange Program.

Anyway the background of this story goes like this. What if one day there were no more pets? No more dogs and cats to bring small children happiness? What if instead someone decided they could breed special humans to be pets? What if they were sold in stores just like dogs and cats are now? How would they feel? Well here it is read on...

Jack is 7 turning 8, Ianto is just over 6, let me know what you think pretty please.

**Glass Walls**

It's always the same every day; locked in a glass box with a little food and water, watching the people walk by, hoping one of them will stop and look, sitting up and trying our best to look cute when one of them does stop for more than a glance. We all want the same thing; somewhere to belong, someone to belong to, a lone soul looking for a friend, or a family even…with kids who will play with us. Either way, we'll be happy as long as we find someone who wants us.

I've been here the longest; it's been quite a few weeks for me. All the others who were brought here with me are long gone now, living out their new lives with those who chose them. I wasn't surprised; I knew I wasn't like the others with their perfect teeth, perfect hair, flawless skin, and perfect accents. The only reason I was brought here at all was because that was the deal the trader had made with the breeder.

"It's all of them or none at all," had been the breeder's exact words, and because the trader had wanted the others on offer, he'd agreed, although begrudgingly. The trader had made the same deal with the store I now reside in, and so, here I am.

Every one of the others was sold within days of being put on display. When a week later I still hadn't gone, the store owners had put me in with another group, hoping maybe someone would mistake me for one of them and take me. They'd even gone so far as to offer me to a young couple for half price when they'd bought one of the others. They took one look at me and turned up their noses, just like everyone else.

The people around me either hated me or pitied me; either way I detested the way their eyes bored into me whenever I was offered up and refused. The ladies in charge of keeping us clean and well groomed took extra special care of me, always making sure I was as comfortable as I could be made, and for that at least I was grateful, but I knew deep down they felt sorry for me. They smiled and spoke encouragingly to me, telling me not to give up, someone would take me one day, but underneath it all I knew they were thinking, "Poor little thing, no one's ever going to want him." I'm sure a few of them would have even taken me home if it were allowed.

The days dragged by and I continued to stare at the glass, watching and hoping, even though I was positive it was hopeless, because it's all I could do. Every once in a while, I'd see my own face reflected back at me, almost like the universe wanted to remind me of why nobody wanted me, why no one would ever want me. Every time it popped up in front of me, I'd immediately look away, but not before the big, red scar on my face had time to remind me of my horrible past and all the pain I'd endured before the breeder had found out and put a stop to it. Unfortunately, by that time, I'd already been ruined. The only reason he had called a Doctor out to look at me at all was because it was the law. If he'd had it his way, he would have left me to die.

Sometimes I wish he had.

"Aren't they cute," I hear a voice proclaim off to my left, and I look over to see a little girl and her mother at one of the boxes just down from mine, studying a group of young females who'd arrived from the North lands just two days before.

"They are, sweetie," her mother replies. "Have a good look at all of them before you make a choice though, you might find some you like better."

The little girl agrees and makes her way slowly down the line of boxes until she reaches mine. I see her stop and immediately do my best to look cute and obedient. She studies me for a moment, her head tilted to the side in curiosity.

"What have you found there, sweetie?" I hear her mother ask as footsteps approach my box. She stops beside her daughter and bends down to study me. An alarmed look fills her eyes and she immediately stands back up and takes her daughter's hand. "Come along, sweetie, there are others down here that are much nicer than him."

I know I should feel disappointed, but I've heard those words or others like them so many times by now that I'm almost used to them.

"But, Mummy, what was that ugly line on his face?" I hear the little girl ask.

"It's a scar, sweetie. When his kind are naughty, their breeders punish them so they learn not to do it again," I hear the mother reply.

I've heard that explanation so many times; the story so many adults tell to make the maiming of my face acceptable for themselves and their children, to make violence seem somehow okay. Heaven forbid anyone accept the truth; that the universe is a harsh unforgiving place where innocent people are harmed on a regular basis for the crime of simply daring to exist. The owners and the workers never told them they were wrong about me, they knew how important people's illusions were to them.

The mother and daughter walk on, eventually settling on one of the young North girls the little girl had spotted in the beginning. What a surprise!

The days continue on like this for me. I always do as I'm instructed and perform for any audience who stops for a look, but I know nothing will ever come of it, nobody will ever want me.

"Can I look at them, Grandma, please?" I hear a little boy's voice ask from near the front door. I don't hear a reply but she must have agreed because suddenly, I hear footsteps. I look toward the door and see a little boy, maybe 7 years old, heading toward my box. It's been a long day of sitting up looking cute, and I'm almost tempted to hide in the back corner of my box and pretend to be napping, but something stops me; something tells me not to back out of this one. So I don't. I make my way to the glass that separates me from the rest of the world and sit up to wait for the little boy to come by.

After what feels like forever, he stops in front of my box and kneels down to look at me properly. His gaze settles immediately on my eyes and suddenly, I see something I never thought I'd see.

He smiles, and it's beautiful.

I creep closer to the glass, my gaze never leaving his. For the first time in my life, someone is looking at me, really looking, not just appraising me with their eyes and picking up my flaws so they can dismiss me. I stop when my nose touches the glass, reaching out with my hands until they too are stopped by the glass. I want to be as close to him as I can get.

He continues to gaze into my eyes as if he's found something in me that he's been missing. He presses his hands against the glass, lining them up with mine; it's almost as if he's as desperate to be close to me as I am to be close to him. We stare at each other, sapphire blue gaze locked with sky blue. I wish desperately for the glass between us to disappear, just for a second, so I can feel the warmth of his small hand against my own. I want to say something, to beg him to take me away with him, but I cannot speak until I am spoken to so I must wait for him to say the first word.

My gaze moves from his eyes to his lips then back to his eyes, imploring him to say something, anything. For a moment, he seems puzzled, but then he seems to realize what I want because he opens his mouth to say something.

"Jack, are you back there?" I hear a voice call and suddenly, our moment is over.

"I'm here, Grandma," Jack calls over his shoulder before turning his attention to me again. He opens his mouth to say something to me again but is interrupted when a cranky looking old lady suddenly bursts around the corner and grabs his hand.

"Come on, Jack, we're late," she urges him as she practically drags him away.

"But, Grandma, look." He pulls back on her hand and points to me.

She turns to look at me for a moment before screwing up her nose and turning to regard Jack with disbelief. "What in the world would you want an ugly thing like that for?" she asks, continuing on her way out of the shop.

I feel an awful pain in my heart and almost immediately, tears are burning my eyes. No, this isn't fair! How can the universe tease me like this?

Then something happens that shocks me even more than Jack's smile from earlier. He turns back to face me as he's being dragged away and he calls. "I'll come back for you, I promise."

His grandmother says something back to him but I don't hear it, I'm too busy floating on a happy cloud to hear anything going on around me right now. Jack promised to come back for me! Never, in my six painful years of life, have I dared to dream that something like that would ever happen to me. I watch him wave to me one last time as he disappears from the shop, and for the first time in my life, I know what it is like to feel hope.

I hold on to that hope for days, weeks even. I ignore the others who tell me over and over that he's not coming back, that there is no way he'd ever bother coming back for me. I hope and I pray. I watch the door constantly, but ignore everyone who enters because they're not him.

Finally, a month passes with no sight of him, and I realize deep down that I've held out for nothing. I sit in the corner of my little box and let the tears fall, berating myself mentally for allowing myself the luxury of hope. How could I have been so silly? Of course Jack doesn't want me, nobody wants me.

Oh but I had wished; I'd wished and hoped with all my heart. I'd gone for so long without ever hoping but now that I've had a taste of what it's like to feel special and wanted, I feel so desolate without those feelings. Nothing seems to matter anymore. I curl up into a ball in my little box and will myself to disappear, hoping that maybe, if I ignore the world long enough, it may just cease to exist...or I will.

The workers try to talk me out of it but I don't want to hear. The owners threaten me with everything from no food to being tossed out into the back room, in the dark, where nobody would ever see me at all, but I don't care. What does it matter? No one wants to see me anyway.

After a week in confinement, I suddenly find myself being dragged from the cage they've thrown me in. I don't fight, I don't see a point. What's the worst they can do? Kill me? That might not be so bad. As we reach the open area of the store, I hear a voice that I recognize.

"Are you sure he's not still here somewhere? I really, really wanted him."

My eyes snap open, and I have to blink a few times to adjust to the light, but soon, he comes into focus. Jack, my Jack has come for me, but he can't see me because he's looking the other way. I force my weak limbs to move and before anyone can stop me, I've struggled my way free and I'm running to him. I hear voices shouting at me to stop but I keep going. Finally, I'm close enough to reach his hand, and just as I touch it, I feel hands grabbing me from behind and pulling me away.

I scream and fight to get free. My Jack is here. I have to make him see me. I hear voices shouting but I can't hear what they were saying. I keep fighting and fighting until suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my back and all my limbs cease to function. I feel it again, only this time, I hear the accompanying zap and realize it's a stun gun that's pressed into my back; that explains the paralysis.

Everything around me suddenly becomes really fuzzy. My vision blurs, my head is swimming and my hearing is almost completely muffled as if someone has shoved cotton wool inside my ear drums. I lie there for what feels like an eternity before my senses begin to return to me. The first thing I notice is that I'm no longer being restrained by large hands, but rather cradled gently in a pair of small arms while a warm hand gently strokes my face.

My hearing is the next thing to clear up, and I hear a gentle voice speaking soothingly to me, telling me it's going to be okay. Finally, my vision clears, and I looked up to see Jack and an older man leaning over me, concern and sadness shining in their eyes. It's Jack's arms that are holding me, Jack's hand that is gently stroking my hair, but it's the older man who's speaking soothingly to me.

"There now, it's okay, little one," he says gently. "It's okay. You're going to be all right."

I smile up at Jack, the elation at seeing him again easing the pain and discomfort in ways nothing else could. He smiles back at me sadly before saying, "I'm sorry I couldn't come back sooner."

I'm not sure if I can trust my voice right now so I just smile back. I don't care how long it took, he's here now.

The next few minutes are a blur to me. I hear yelling and arguing going on around me. I feel Jack's arms tighten around me more than once as if he's afraid someone will take me away from him. Finally, the man who was speaking to me earlier-I think he's Jack's dad-scoops me up out of Jack's arms and carries me away from the store forever.

I don't look back; there is nothing about that place to miss.

XXX

I open my eyes to find a bright, golden light invading my senses. I immediately close them again and wonder what it could possibly be. Something tickles at the back of my mind, a memory from long ago. Slowly, I open my eyes again and that memory becomes more than a tickle. It's the sun! That amazingly bright light is the sun poking its head above the horizon. It's been so long since I've seen it I'd almost forgotten what it looked like.

But wait, why am I seeing the sunrise? We never get to see the sun at all in the store.

Suddenly, I realize how comfortable I am. The bed beneath me is firm and even. The pillow under my head is plump and smells clean. The blankets are soft and warm and there is not a single sound anywhere around me except something I recognize as birds singing outside the window. Window? Our sleeping room doesn't have windows.

I scan the room with my eyes, trying to ascertain where I am. The walls are painted in a soft blue with dark blue edgings. The windows-there are two I think-are half covered by dark blue curtains at the edges while the middle is covered by a soft blue, mostly transparent material I think might be some kind of lace. The carpet is the same dark blue as the curtains, as is the comforter and blankets on the bed. The sheets are the lighter blue color.

There is a tall wooden desk pressed up against one wall, but I can't see anything else from where I'm lying, not without rolling over. Do I want to do that? What if someone's watching me? Do I really want them to know I'm awake? A sudden movement behind me startles me, and I glance back to find that I'm not alone in my bed…well…the bed I'm in. I'm not really sure it's mine. I can't see who it is without turning over and waking them up though.

I feel a brush against my stomach and look down to find an arm wrapped around my waist, a child's arm, only slightly bigger than my own. I reach down to touch it and suddenly, memories come flooding back to me. Seeing Jack at the store the first time…his promise to come back for me…the waiting and eventual acceptance that he wasn't coming…the darkness and despair. Then seeing Jack in the store with that other man…struggling to get to him…the stun gun in my back…fuzziness and eventually being able to see again; seeing Jack's beautiful smile again, and finally, the older man picking me up and carrying me. I can't remember much after that. I must have fallen asleep only seconds after we'd left the shop.

Still, if all of that really happened, then that would mean the person cuddled up to me should be…

Suddenly, I hear a knock, and a few seconds later, a woman walks into the room holding a tray full of food. "Good morning, Jack, it's time to get up," she chimes happily. "I've got breakfast for you and your new friend here."

Jack! She'd called him Jack! It IS him. I feel tears fill my eyes as Jack begins to stir, and I hear him call back a thank you to the woman before she leaves the room. I stay perfectly still, terrified that even the slightest movement might destroy this wonderful dream I'm in, and it has to be a dream, there's no way this is really happening to me at last.

I feel Jack's hand come up to gently stroke my hair. "Are you awake, Ianto?" he asks quietly. "Breakfast is here for us."

I slowly roll over until I'm lying on my back and look up at the beautiful boy in awe. Jack is leaning up on his elbow, looking down at me with a warm, happy smile on his face.

"Good morning," he greets me quietly. "How did you sleep?"

I feel the tears spill free as I struggle to think of what to say. Obviously, I should answer him but I'm at a loss for words. I still can't believe this is really happening. His hand reaches up to gently wipe the tears from my face and finally, I manage to say, "Thank you." It's barely a whisper but I know he will have heard me.

His smile widens, and he reaches over to gently stroke my face. I close my eyes and lean into the touch, enjoying it in ways no one else could ever imagine.

"That's okay," he replies quietly, his fingers moving across to gently stroke my scar. After a few moments of silence, he asks, "Does it hurt?"

I open my eyes again and our gazes meet. He looks so concerned for me. It makes me want to cry all over again. "No," I reply quietly. "Not anymore."

He nods in understanding but after that there is nothing but silence. We gaze at each other; my eyes still likely showing wonder, his shining with adoration and caring.

Finally, he speaks again. "I've never had a pet before, but I think we're going to be great friends," he says.

I smile warmly at him and nod in agreement. I'll be a good pet; I'll do anything I have to in order to stay with him.

He smiles back at me for a few moments before slipping out of bed and making his way over to the desk to retrieve our breakfast. A few minutes later finds us happily full (I've never eaten so much in my life) and snuggled up together in his bed, watching morning cartoons.

After a short while, my attention turns from the television to my new master. He's so lovely and caring, all the things I never thought I'd have. He must have noticed my focus on him because he looks down at me and smiles, pulls me a little closer and gently strokes my hair before turning his attention back to the TV.

I may be unimportant, just a simple pet that lives in the background of Jack's life, never noticed by anyone else, but none of that matters to me. I'm his, I'll always be his, and because of that, I'm the happiest boy in the world!

The End

So what do we think? Love it? Hate it? Please review pretty please with sugar and cherries? And if you're going to tell me you don't like it for some reason please make your comments constructive and not just mean, I really don't like mean pointless reviews they are no help at all.

Love you all, hope you enjoyed it.

Kayla


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